HERCULESES
HERCULES
Her"cu*les, n.
1. (Gr. Myth.)
Definition: A hero, fabled to have been the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, and
celebrated for great strength, esp. for the accomplishment of his
twelve great tasks or "labors."
2. (Astron.)
Definition: A constellation in the northern hemisphere, near Lyra.
Hercules' beetle (Zoöl.), any species of Dynastes, an American genus
of very large lamellicorn beetles, esp. D. hercules of South America,
which grows to a length of six inches.
– Hercules' club. (Bot.) (a) An ornamental tree of the West Indies
(Zanthoxylum Clava-Herculis), of the same genus with the prickly ash.
(b) A variety of the common gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris). Its fruit
sometimes exceeds five feet in length. (c) The Angelica tree. See
under Angelica.
– Hercules powder, an explosive containing nitroglycerin; -- used
for blasting.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition